By TR Robertson
Hundreds of people lined up in the parking lot in front of the brand-new Trader Joe’s on Friday in anticipation of the opening of Trader Joe’s newest store in California, located at 1861 University Drive. The store is located in the old Chuck E. Cheese building and has gone through a remodel in preparation for opening. Trader Joe’s was started in 1967 by Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California, sold in 1979 to Theo Albrecht, founder of Aldi’s, and is now owned by his heirs. There are 564+ Trader Joe’s in 42 states, 193+ in California and growing every year. In San Diego County in 2024 Trader Joe’s opened stores in Santee, Poway and now in Vista. The store will be open from 9am until 9pm every day.
Anxious shoppers began lining up outside of the Vista Trader Joe’s at 7:30, waiting for the 8:55 am Red Ribbon Ceremony, followed by the 9 am store opening. Debra Bahrke, a retired Von’s employee, was first in line and said she was there at 7:30 am. Dave Larkin, store captain (manager), spoke to the crowd at 8:50 am welcoming those in attendance and saying all of the employees were anxious to welcome the shoppers to the new store. He also said this store’s mascot is the Hummingbird.
Following the quick Red Ribbon cutting, Larkin posed for pictures with Vista Mayor John Franklin, who presented Larkin with a City Proclamation welcoming them to Vista. Ryan Ewart, from the Office of Assembly Member Laurie Davies, also presented Larkin with a proclamation welcoming the store to North County. Larkin and Mayor Franklin also posed for photos with North County Square Manger/Director Bill Valaika. Valaika said they were very excited to have Trader Joe’s as part of the businesses in North County Square. He wanted all residents in North County to know that the many businesses in NC Square form over 600,000 square feet of shopping space for customers. Some of the businesses comprising this area include not only Trader Joe’s, but also include Target, Michael’s, Old Navy, Famous Footwear, Wal Mart, Burlington, The Indian Store, Firestone, Pizzeria, Aldi’s, Jersey Mike’s, Carl Jr., Starbucks, Living Spaces, T-Mobil, Aria Nail Lounge just to name a few.
Ample parking is available at the Vista Trader Joe’s and friendly faces will greet you and help you with finding the many quality food items in the store as well as a selection of holiday gift items.
